visit bows and arrows this saturday, january 23, 2010 from 6 to 9pm for the opening reception of works by dallas based painter mary emma hawthorne and photographer matt hawthorne. take a peek at their work below...

MARY EMMA HAWTHORNEMary Emma HawthorneSince 2005, I have been creating collage pieces and find the process intriguing and satisfying, yet quite complex. I enjoy being able to search for materials to work with and be reminded of their significance when I revisit them in a piece. My abstract work is created with a bit of ambiguity, alongside intentional and strategic placement.Looking back several years, the subjects of my paintings were nostalgic, referencing familiar experiences along with other more common ones, which touched my heart all the same. The next phase came the entrance of collage. Upon discovering perfect bird images, which would soon be my subjects, I continued referencing issues within my environment. Then, finally, a mission trip to Africa, became the subject matter for the most recent series. It was there, where I was faced with and impacted by the extreme poverty conditions. Fortunately, there were many uplifting and cheerful experiences as well. The culture we interacted with taught me so many simple lessons and left me with a mixture of emotions; I had to come back and produce work on all I had seen, for others to experience in a slight way, what I will never forget.www.maryemmahawthorne.com

MATT HAWTHORNEMatt HawthorneI have been using the Polaroid process for quite some time. Having an interest in all aspects of our urban society, the mix of the polaroid medium and our urban landscape is what motivates me to make these types of images. Boarded up industrial buildings, street markets, markings of buffed graffiti, train yards, and the combination of colors left on decomposing walls are examples of things I search for everyday to build inspiration. From there, my photographs evolve into compositions associated with color, pattern, negative space, and repetition. Opposite from my commercial work, being so crisp and exaggeratedly sharp, these polaroids take on a more mysterious quality by being soft or completely out of focus. This quality also allows me to capture the still and mundane aspects of everyday life. www.matthawthorne.com